Maldives to end foreign worker quotas in key professions

The government has gazetted new rules to phase out the issuance of employment quotas to foreign workers in several professions in the Maldives.

The Ministry of Homeland Security published the regulations on Monday, setting timelines to stop allocating quotas for foreign workers in selected occupations, including healthcare, education, aviation, and maritime roles.

Under the rules, some positions will no longer be eligible for employment quotas from the date the regulations came into force. These positions include taxi drivers, aircraft first officers or co-pilots, sea vessel captains, workers in entertainment activities, and cashiers employed in business establishments.

The regulations state that the Ministry of Homeland Security retains the authority to amend the list of positions based on the availability of Maldivian workers in the labour market.

The rules also provide for the cancellation of quotas for certain positions after specific periods following implementation. After two years, quotas will cease for the following occupations:

Quotas for the following positions will be cancelled after three years from the date the rules came into force:

After four years, quotas will end for:

Quotas for the following positions will be cancelled after five years:

The regulations were gazetted and came into effect on Monday.